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South Stack lighthouse, on the island of Anglesey in North Wales, is a very dramatic spot and you would think it would be easy to get a great photograph here just by turning up at any time of the day, in any season. After all, the place is so photogenic that a picture could almost take itself!
Personally I've found that not to be the case at all, with many fruitless and disappointing trips trying to get that killer image but coming away with just a couple of so-so shots to show for my efforts.
One of the great delights and equally great frustrations in landscape photography is that you never quite know what you're going to get in terms of weather and light, and that's especially true at the coast where conditions can change in an instant.
While not being able to guarantee success, there are some decisions you can make to improve your chances of getting a worthwhile photo, which is how I approached this shot of South Stack.
My first consideration was 'What time of day?'. I've been to this location before, at almost every time of the day from pre-dawn to post-dusk so I knew from experience that the best time for photography was around sunset. Sunrise just doesn't work as well here. But what if you're at a new location and have no prior experience to go on? This is where an Ordinance Survey map and a sun compass come into play.
The map and sun compass will also show you what the best time of year to visit might be, as the position of sunset and sunrise varies considerabley with the seasons.
For this shot of South Stack, showing both the lighthouse and the sunset sky, late summer is the season to be there, as the sun sets to the northwest at this time of year which places it in just the right spot to compliment the lighthouse beam.
The next decision to make is what weather do you want to photograph in? Do you want a cloudless sky? Then you'll have to wait for a high pressure system to stabilise the weather and keep any fronts at bay. Even then you can't be sure of getting what you want as convection clouds can form under most any condition.
Personally I like lots of drama in the sky when I'm photographing a scene like South Stack so I'm looking for an active weather front passing over and clearing inland around sunset to give me the broken cloud and sunset light I crave for this type of composition.
It's a lot of trouble to go to just to take a photo, and even when you maximise your chances of success things don't always pan out as you would want, but when everything comes together in front of your lens it's an incredible feeling that keeps me coming back for more.
Filename - lighthouse 31.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 100-400mm zoom @ 150mm
Exposure - 5secs @ f16, ISO100
Location - South Stack, Anglesey
This image - 533x800px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Tripod, mirror lockup and cable release used to prevent camera movement.
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.